In life, situations often arise when, when describing some action (action) in the past, there is another action that took place somewhat earlier. Accordingly, to reflect this earlier action. in the past an earlier past tense is also necessary. It was precisely in this case that the action that took place earlier. in the past is the German Plusquamperfekt. Plusquamperfekt in its meaning precedes the German tense. Let's look at simple speech examples:

Petra hat den Pullover gestrickt . – Petra knitted a pullover.
Petra ist aus dem Urlaub zurückgekehrt . – Petra returned from vacation.

In both examples the perfect is used (past tense, perfect). However, if we combine the events into one text, it turns out that first one action took place, and only after it another: Petra first returned from vacation, and then knitted a pullover. To correctly express this in German, it is necessary to construct statements as follows:

Petra war aus dem Urlaub zurückgekehrt . Petra hat den Pullover gestrickt .

Now the time sequence of actions is observed, but the proposals are not completely interconnected. To establish this relationship, it is necessary to connect these simple sentences into one complex one. This will require a German alliance “after this; after - nachdem.” It is this conjunction that most often links complex sentences with forms (f-mi) of the past and pre-past tenses. In this case, when using Plusquamperfekt as a pre-past tense, the past in a complex sentence will be the simple past Präteritum (this is a grammatically ideal agreement of tenses). The use of perfect fm in such situations (instead of Präteritum) also seems quite possible and is not erroneous, for example:

Nachdem Petra aus dem Urlaub zurückgekehrt war, strickte sie den Pullover. = Nachdem Petra aus den Urlaub zurückgekehrt war, hat sie den Pullover gestrickt. – After Petra returned from vacation, she knitted a pullover.

From the above examples it is clear that if to form perfect f-m auxiliary verbs are placed in Präsens f-m, then to form plusquaperfect f-m they are placed in Präteritum f-m, but in practice Perfekt is also widely used.

Plusquamperfekt forms can also be used in the passive voice, For example:

Nachdem der Bankräuber von der Bezirkspolizei festgenommen worden war, konnten sie nach Hause fahren. – After the bank robber was captured by the regional police, they could go home.
Nachdem diese leckere Pilzsuppe zubereitet worden war, wurden wir alle zum Mittagessen eingeladen. – After this delicious mushroom soup was prepared, we were all invited to dinner.

In general, the past tense phrase Plusquamperfekt is very rarely used in German speech, and it is especially rare to find it in its colloquial version.

Plusquamperfect in German expresses the pre-past tense and is used when they want to emphasize the relationship of two past actions in time or the causal connection of one action with another.

Plusquamperfekt is usually used in combination with Präteritum. Plusquamperfekt is most often translated into Russian as a perfect past tense verb.

To show this relationship of actions, the words are often used in translation into Russian at first, at first, before, before:

Er hatte die Hotelfachschule beendet, dann trat er in die Universit ät ein. — First (first) he graduated from the school of hotel management, then entered the university.

The most typical case of using Plusquamperfekt in German is the subordinate clause of time with the conjunction nachdem, in which the action expressed by the predicate of the subordinate clause precedes the past action expressed by the predicate of the main clause. The predicate of the subordinate clause is expressed by a verb in Plusquamperfekt, and the predicate of the main clause is expressed by a verb in the preterite:

Nachdem er das Gymnasium beendet hatte, trat er in die Universit ät ein. — After he graduated from high school, he entered the university.

Plusquamperfekt is a complex temporary form. It is formed, like Perfekt, with the help of the auxiliary verbs haben or sein and the participle II of the conjugated verb. The auxiliary verb haben or sein for Plusquamperfekt is used in the form Präteritum.

The rules for choosing the auxiliary verbs haben and sein are the same as when forming Perfect.

Face	With an auxiliary verb haben	With an auxiliary verb sein
ich	hatte gelesen	war gefahren
du	hattest gelesen	warst gefahren
er	hatte gelesen	war gefahren
wir	hatten gelesen	waren gefahren
ihr	hatten gelesen	wart gefahren
sie	hatten gelesen	waren gefahren

Nachdem ich den Brief gelesenhatte , schrieb ich sofort die Antwort. — After I read the letter, I immediately wrote an answer.

Mein Freund schrieb mir , dass sein Bruder vor einem Monat nach Moscow gefahrenwar . — My friend wrote to me that his brother left for Moscow a month ago.

Modal verbs and verbs sehen, hören, fühlen, used with the infinitive of another verb, when forming Plusquamperfekt, have the features that were indicated for the formation of Perfect:

Die Wissenschaftler hatten dieses wichtige Problem l ösen m üssen . — Scientists had to solve this important problem.

Wir hatten unsere Hausaufgabe gestern erf üllen k önnen (wollen). — We could (want) to do our homework yesterday.

Examples of using German past tenses in speech:

Den ganzen Sommer verbrachte Irma in ihrem kleinen Landhaus, genoss frische Luft und Einsamkeit. - Irma spent the whole summer in her small country house, enjoying the fresh air and solitude (narrative Präteritum).

Hat dir Irma verraten, wo sie diesen Sommer verbracht hat? - Did Irma reveal to you the secret of where she spent this summer (dialogical Perfekt)?

Wir sind jetzt bei Irma, die uns in ihr gemütliches kleines Landhaus eingeladen hat. - We are now with Irma, who invited us to her cozy little country house (the second act in Perfekt precedes the first in Präsens).

Als wir Irma be suchen wollten, entdeckten wir, dass sie vor ein paar Monaten ihre Wohnung verlassen hatte. - When we wanted to visit Irma, we discovered that she had left her apartment several months ago (the last action in Plusquamperfekt precedes the first two in Präteritum).

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Past tense (Präteritum)

Except Perfect (perfect tense) There is also a simple past tense in the German language - Präteritum(which in Latin means past past). It is formed using the suffix -t-. Compare:

Ich tanze. – I am dancing (present tense – Präsens).

Ich tanz t e. – I danced (past tense – Präteritum).

This is similar to the English past tense, where the sign of the past tense is the suffix -d-:

I dance – I danced.

Präsens Präteritum

ich sage - I say ich sagte - I said

wir, sie, Sie sagen wir, sie, Sie sagten

du sagst du sagtest

er sagt er sagte (!)

ihr sagt ihr sagtet

Feature Präteritum is what is in the form he she it) no personal ending added -t, that is: forms I And He match up. (As you remember, the same thing happens with modal verbs.)

As we have already said, the German language has strong (irregular, non-rule) verbs. Sagen – weak, regular verb. And here fallen – strong:

ich, er fiel (I, he fell), wir, sie, Sie fielen,

du fielst,

ihr fielt.

The past tense suffix is no longer needed here -t-, since the past tense is indicated by the changed word itself (compare with English: I see - I see, I saw - I saw). Forms I And He are the same, there are no personal endings in these forms (all the same as with modal verbs in the present tense).

So, the Russian phrase I bought beer It can be translated into German in two ways:

Ich kaufte Bier. – Präteritum (past tense).

Ich habe Bier gekauft. – Perfect (perfect tense).

What is the difference?

Perfect is used when an action performed in the past is connected with the present moment, when it is relevant. For example, you come home and your wife asks you (as they say, dreaming is not harmful):

Hast du Bier gekauft? – Did you buy beer?

Ja, ich habe Bier gekauft.(You answer with a sense of accomplishment).

She is not interested in the moment in the past when you bought beer, not in history, but in the result of the action - that is, the availability of beer. Is it done or not? Has it happened or not? Hence the name - Perfect (perfect tense).

Präteritum (past tense) used when an action performed in the past has nothing to do with the present moment. It's just a story, a story about some past events. That's why Perfect is used, as a rule, in conversation, in dialogue, when exchanging remarks (after all, it is in conversation that what is most often important is not the action itself in the past, but its relevance for the present, its result), and Präteritum- in a story, in a monologue. For example, you talk about how you spent your vacation:

Ich kaufte ein paar Flaschen Bier... Dann ging ich an den Strand... – I bought a few bottles of beer, went to the beach...

Or tell your child a fairy tale:

Es war einmal ein König, der hatte drei Töchter... - Once upon a time there was a king, he had three daughters...

Ich kam, ich sah, ich siegte. – I came, I saw, I conquered.

Because the Präteritum needed, as a rule, for a story, then the second person form ( you you) are rarely used. Even in a question to a person telling about something, it is more often used Perfect – so used to it that this form is for replicas, Präteritum with this interruption of the narrator it sounds very literary (albeit beautiful): Kauftest du Bier? Gingt ihr dann an den Strand? Basically, you will encounter and use the following two forms:

(ich, er) kaufte, wir (sie) kauften– for weak verbs,

(ich, er) ging, wir (sie) gingen– for strong verbs.

Table - formation of the preterite:

So: in conversation you use Perfect, in a story (about events not related to the present moment) - Präteritum.

However Präteritum verbs sein, haben and modal verbs (+ verb wissen) is also used in conversation - along with Perfect:

Ich war in der Türkei. (Präteritum) – I was in Turkey.

= Ich bin in der Türkei gewesen. (Perfect)

Ich hatte einen Hund. (Präteritum) – I had a dog.

= Ich habe einen Hund gehabt. (Perfect)

Ich musste ihr helfen. (Präteritum) – I had to help her.

= Ich habe ihr helfen müssen. (Perfect)

Ich wusste das. (Präteritum) - I knew it.

Ich habe das gewusst. (Perfect)

Past tense forms sein -> war (du warst, er war, wir waren…) And haben -> hatte (du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten…) need to remember.

Modal verbs form Präteritum as weak - by inserting a suffix -t-, with the only peculiarity that Umlaut (mutation) in this case it “evaporates”: müssen -> musste, sollen -> sollte, dürfen -> durfte, können -> konnte, wollen -> wollte.

For example:

Ich konnte in die Schweiz fahren. Ich hatte Glück. Ich war noch nie in der Schweiz. – I was able to go to Switzerland. I was lucky (I was lucky). I've never been to Switzerland before.

Separately, you need to remember: mögen -> mochte:

Ich mochte früher Käse. Jetzt mag ich keinen Käse. – I used to love cheese. Now I don't like cheese.

Now we can write down the so-called basic forms of the verb (Grundformen):

Infinitiv Präteritum Partizip 2

kaufen kaufte gekauft

(buy) (bought) (purchased)

trinken trunk getrunken

For weak verbs, there is no need to memorize the basic forms, since they are formed regularly. The basic forms of strong verbs must be memorized (as, by the way, in English: drink – drank – drunk, see – saw – seen…)

For some strong verbs, as you remember, you need to remember the present tense form (Präsens) – for forms You And he she it): nehmen – er nimmt (he takes), fallen – er fällt (he falls).

Of particular note is a small group of verbs intermediate between weak and strong:

denken – dachte – gedacht (to think),

bringen – brachte – gebracht (bring),

kennen – kannte – gekannt (to know, to be familiar),

nennen – nannte – genannt (to name),

rennen – rannte – gerannt (run, rush),

senden – sandte – gesandt (to send),

(sich) wenden – wandte – gewandt (to address).

They get in Präteritum and in Partizip 2 suffix -t, like weak verbs, but at the same time they change the root, like many strong ones.

For senden And wenden weak forms are also possible (although strong (with -A-) are used more often:

Wir sandten/sendeten Ihnen vor vier Wochen unsere Angebotsliste. – We sent you a list of proposals four weeks ago.

Sie wandte/wendete kein Auge von ihm. – She didn’t take her eyes off him (didn’t turn away).

Haben Sie sich an die zuständige Stelle gewandt/gewendet? – Have you contacted the appropriate (responsible) authority?

If senden has the meaning broadcast, A wenden – change direction, turn over, then only weak forms are possible:

Wir sendeten Nachrichten. - We conveyed the news.

Er wendete den Wagen (wendete das Schnitzel). - He turned the car (turned the schnitzel over).

Jetzt hat sich das Blatt gewendet. – Now the page has turned (i.e. new times have come).

There are several cases where the same verb can be both weak and strong. At the same time, its meaning changes. For example, hängen in meaning hang has weak forms, and in the meaning hang - strong (and in general, in such “double” verbs, the active “double”, as a rule, has weak forms, and the passive one has strong forms):

Sie hängte das neue Bild an die Wand. – She hung a new picture on the wall.

Das Bild hing schief an der Wand. – The picture hung crookedly on the wall.

Hast du die Wäsche aufgehängt? -Have you hung up your laundry?

Der Anzug hat lange im Schrank gehangen. – This suit hung in the closet for a long time.

Verb erschrecken – weak if it means frighten, and strong if it means get scared:

Er erschreckte sie mit einer Spielzeugpistole. “He scared her with a toy gun.”

Sein Aussehen hat mich erschreckt. – His (appearance) frightened me.

Erschrecke nicht! - Do not scare!

Sie erschrak bei seinem Anblick. – She was scared when she saw him (literally: when she saw him).

Ich bin über sein Aussehen erschrocken. – I’m scared by his appearance (the way he looks).

Erschrick nicht! - Do not be afraid!

Verb bewegen could mean like move, set in motion(and then he is weak), so encourage(strong):

Sie bewegte sich im Schlaf. – She moved (i.e., tossed and turned) in her sleep.

Die Geschichte hat mich sehr bewegt. – This story really touched me.

Sie bewog ihn zum Nachgeben. – She prompted, forced him to yield (prompted him to yield).

Die Ereignisse der letzten Wochen haben ihn bewogen, die Stadt zu verlassen. “The events of recent weeks have prompted him to leave the city.

Verb schaffen - weak in meaning to work hard, to cope with something(by the way, the motto of the Swabians, and indeed the Germans in general: schaffen, sparen, Häusle bauen - to work, save, build a house) and strong in meaning create, create:

Er schaffte die Abschlussprüfung spielend. – He passed the final exam effortlessly.

Wir haben das geschafft! – We achieved it, we did it!

Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde. – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Die Maßnahmen haben kaum neue Arbeitsplätze geschaffen. – These events did not create new jobs.

The plusquaperfect in German expresses the pre-past tense. It is also a complex temporary form. It is formed, like the perfect, with the help of the auxiliary verbs haben or sein and the participle II of the conjugated verb. The auxiliary verb haben or sein for the plusquaperfect is used in the preterite form.

The rules for choosing the auxiliary verbs haben and sein are the same as when forming the perfect.

Verb conjugation in Plusquamperfekt in German

	With an auxiliary verb haben		With an auxiliary verb sein
Unit h.	ich hatte gelesen	I read (read)	ich war gefahren	I was driving (I was driving)
	du hattest gelesen	did you read (read)	du warst gefahren	you went (went)
	er hatte gelesen	he read (read)	er war gefahren	he went (went)
Plural h.	wir hatten gelesen	we read (read)	wir waren gefahren	we went (let's go)
	ihr hattet gelesen	you read (read)	ihr wart gefahren	you were driving (let's go)
	sie hatten gelesen	they read (read)	sie waren gefahren	they were driving (they were driving)
Polite form reverse	Sie hatten gelesen	Have you read (read)	Sie waren gefahren	You went (went)

For example:

Modal verbs and verbs sehen, hören, fühlen, used with the infinitive of another verb, when forming the plusquaperfect, have the features that were indicated for the formation of the perfect:

Using the plusquaperfect in German
and its translation into Russian

The plusquaperfect is used in German when they want to emphasize the relationship of two past actions in time or the causal connection of one action with another.

The plusquaperfect is usually used in combination with the present. The plusquaperfect is most often translated into Russian as a perfective past tense verb.

To show this relationship of actions, the words are often used in translation into Russian at first, at first, before, before.

The most typical case of using the plusquaperfect in German is the subordinate clause of time with the conjunction nachdem, in which the action expressed by the predicate of the subordinate clause precedes the past action expressed by the predicate of the main clause. The predicate of the subordinate clause is expressed by a verb in the plusquaperfect, and the predicate of the main clause is expressed by a verb in the preterite.

Let's take two simple sentences:

Ich habe die Arbeit beendet. - I finished work.

Ich bin nach Hause gegangen. - I went home.

In both sentences Perfect (perfect tense). All this has already happened, in the past. But the first event (finishing work) happened before the second (going home). Therefore, for the first event you can use the double past tense, the pre-past tense - Plusquamperfect(which in Latin means more than perfect):

Ich hatte die Arbeit beendet. Ich bin nach Hause gegangen.

To do this, as you can see, you just need to put the auxiliary verb in Präteritum (past tense): ich habe -> ich hatte, ich bin -> ich war.

More often Plusquamperfect used in complex sentences with an introductory word nachdem (after):

Nachdem ich die Arbeit beendet hatte, ging ich nach Hause.

= Nach der Arbeit ging ich nach Hause.

Please note that in the main clause it is used Präteritum(but not Perfect). This is the only case of tense agreement in the German language: in sentences with nachdem(and even then it is not at all mandatory). If one time is compound ( Plusquamperfect because it consists of two verbs: semantic and auxiliary), then the second is simple, consisting of one verb ( Präteritum). Like this:

Nachdem ich nach Hause gekommen war, aß ich zu Abend. - After I came home(in Russian it can be said more simply: coming home), I had dinner.

Nachdem ich gegessen hatte, schaute ich noch ein wenig fern. – After I ate, I watched TV a little more.

Nachdem mein Wagen gestohlen worden war, rief ich die Polizei. “After my car was stolen, I called the police.

In the latter case you see Plusquamperfect Passiv. It remains to add that in addition to proposals with nachdem(and then only if they are talking about the past) the pre-past tense is rarely used, and in colloquial speech it is almost not used at all.

Try it yourself:

Make up sentences with nachdem in the past time:

einen Freund treffen – zusammen ins Cafe gehen (meet a friend – go to a cafe together), im Cafe essen – ein schönes Mädchen sehen – es/sie kennen lernen (wollen) (eat in a cafe – see a beautiful girl – get to know her (want) , es/sie ansprechen – (sie) lächeln (talk to her – smile), (wir) sich sicherer fühlen – (wir) sich vorstellen – an ihrem Tisch bleiben (-blieb – geblieben, s) – viel sprechen (-sprach – gesprochen) und trinken (-trank – getrunken) – zusammen singen (-sang – gesungen) – ganz glücklich werden (-wurde – geworden, s) – sich streiten (-stritt – gestritten) – sich schlagen (-schlug – geschlagen) – von der Polizei festgenommen werden - ganz traurig werden (feel more confident - introduce yourself - stay at her table - talk and drink a lot - sing together - become completely happy - quarrel (argue) - fight - be detained by the police - become completely sad).